1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the management of storage area networks, and more particularly, to systems and methods that achieve increased scalability and reduced latency while managing large numbers of storage arrays.
2. Relevant Background
Storage systems such as storage arrays, disk arrays and the like typically use special hardware and software along with disk and/or tape drives to provide fast and reliable storage for computing and data processing. Storage systems may be complex and thought of as a special purpose computer designed to provide storage capacity along with advanced data protection features. Generally, storage systems can provide either block accessed storage delivered over protocols, such as Fibre Channel, Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI), or Fiber Connectivity (FICON), or file accessed storage provided over protocols such as Network File System (NFS) or Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols.
To provide access to a large volume of block level data storage, storage area networks (SANs) can be used to interconnect a large number of storage systems or devices (e.g., disk arrays, tape libraries, and the like) to one or more servers so that the storage devices appear as locally attached devices to the operating system(s) of the one or more servers. Client devices can then access the storage systems via the servers via one or more networks (e.g., LAN, WAN, SAN, Internet, and/or the like). Sharing storage usually simplifies storage administration and adds flexibility as, for instance, cables and storage devices generally do not have to be physically moved to shift storage from one server to another. A storage network typically includes one or more “array managers” (e.g., storage management software implemented as instances on the one or more servers) that allow for management of the plurality of storage devices. For instance, Oracle's Sun Storage Common Array Manager (CAM) includes a number of interfaces (e.g., browser interface, common line interface (CLI), and the like) that may be accessed from a client device and that allow users to configure storage arrays (e.g., provisioning or allocating storage from particular disk arrays to one or more volumes), monitor storage arrays (e.g., in relation to current state/health of arrays, errors, and alerts), and the like.